So the other night I saw a show with this guy
One of the things he did was go into a fire station, get every fireman that was present’s picture (5 or 6 guys), have the chief shuffle them into no particular order, then had the firemen slide down the pole in the order of their own choosing. They slid down in the exact order the pictures were stacked. His thing was he was influencing the cheif’s shuffling psychically.
Another thing he did was go into a post office (?) or some shipping place, and guessed what boxed objects were (correctly every time) then coming up with the price of all the items out of thin air.
I’m trying really hard to be skeptical. After all, ESP, telepathy, fortune-telling, whatever you call it, it’s all bullshit, right?
Right?
Then how does he do these things then?
Sorry if this is the wrong forum- I’m not talking about the TV show, as much as just the guy in general.
This is the right forum. The idea came from a TV show but you’re discussing the concept. Not to worry.
FWIW, the psychic/paranormal thing is pretty standard grist for our mill.
Be prepared for some pithy insights. Scamming is a real art form.
Veb
Well. Apparently he’s so good, that he has rendered almost the entire SDMB speechless.
Huh. :eek:
Well, it’s no different from any other magic. It’s part illusion, part misdirection, part suggestion, part complicity, part deception, part skill, part luck, and part failure. You really have no idea how many takes were required to do the stunt. (I saw it also.) You have no idea whether there was a plant among the men. You have no idea whether any of it was rehearsed, arranged, or just plain fake altogether.
Magicians are a pretty tight knit fraternity and they generally don’t tell the secrets of their illusions. I doubt that you’ll get one of them to spill the secrets here. Consider this. There are many, many people out there who can do the exact same thing but say that it is only a trick or an illusion. Doesn’t it make more sense that this guy is doing a trick rather than using metal powers? In other words why would he try to prove that he has such powers by doing something that can easily be done by other means?
Haj
I had never heard of the guy, so I looked around, and I found this article. Pretty good read; he sounds like an interesting guy. What struck me, and the writer apparently, was that Senehi really embraces the “is it or isn’t it” feeling from the audience. If he really spooks an audience member, he tells them it’s just a trick. Even he isn’t really trying to force you believe it’s real magic- he just wants you to wonder.
Well, I would assume the guy’s using standard illusionist techniques. I’ve read about more impressive “mentalist” tricks.
The problem here is that, even though the SDMB probably includes at least one genuine practicing illusionist, he’d be bound not to reveal how those tricks are done.
My thought was that the firemen were in on it. In other words, a joke to play on the chief and some airtime to boot. The problem of the randomness to the pictures, to me, is similar to “magic” I’ve seen involving cards. The magician is in control of the order of the cards, though it appears the shuffler is.
I changed the channel during the next segment with the audience member/boyfriend/Metallica thing. It appeared to me his tricks were all going to involve participants who could as easily be plants as not. I realize the same can be said for magicians I enjoy (using plants), but their entire act doesn’t appear to consist of this. I felt the guy was closer to Kamar The Discount Magician entertainment-wise. YMMV
The OP refers to a performer called Gerry McCambridge, and if you liked the show then you’ll be pleased to learn that another hour of his amazing feats is in production.
I’ve said this before but it bears repetition: there’s very little point in posting questions about how these sorts of effects are achieved. Those of us who know won’t tell, and those who tell (or try to offer explanations) don’t really know - they’re just guessing and speculating.
I can say, in all fairness to Gerry, that you can forget about explanations which involve plants, stooges or confederates. People who have a hard time explaining these kinds of effects always reach for the ‘stooge’ explanation because it can be used to explain away anything. I can assure you, as someone who works in this field professionally, that Gerry does not use stooges or camera tricks. I fully realise that this invites the standard retort of ‘Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he…’ . All I can say is that believe what you like, but it’s the truth.
As to how he does achieve these effects… well, obviously I’m not going to say, and neither is anyone else who actually knows. If you are left feeling entertained and intrigued, and inspired to wonder about what is and is not possible, then all to the good. Gerry is very skilled at what he does, and I’m pleased for him that he was given an hour of prime time TV to show what he can do.
As an aside-I know how some of these tricks are done (or some ways to do them), and not at all on others. And I’ve found, contrary to what some magicians have claimed, that understanding them sometimes increases, rather than decreases, my sense of wonder in watching the performance. I haven’t seen this guy, but I remember watching Max Maven perform on TV one time, and I was just in awe. On one trick, I knew exactly what he must have done and when he must have done it, but I still didn’t see him do it! The sheer talent and skill these top performers have developed is unbelievable …
No standard retort here. It was what I saw as a simple explanation, but I’m pleased to read what you wrote. Knowing there’s more of a trick to it than a plant, makes me think I was too hard on the guy.
If you want some insight, try googling Theodore Anneman.
Get one of his books.
This is the groundwork.
Thanks, devilsknew, I will get one of this guy’s books.
I may just make it my life’s mission to figure out how they do it… I am THAT intrigued.